Viewpoints from the Ground vs. the Couch

“They Poured Fire on us from the Sky” recounts the horrors of the journey of three boys, traveling over a thousand miles to escape a war they can’t understand. The book provides a powerful portrait of war, as seen through the eyes of children. Americans are insulated from war as we view it through the modern technology of television and Internet stories. Benson, Alephonsion, and Benjamin write from the soul, through the eyes of children stunned by the effects of extreme hunger, thirst, and disease as they flee through landmines, crocodile-infested waters, human skulls, despair, and loneliness, trying to find a safe refuge. This writing shows us a Sudanese child’s vision of their personal experience with government, America, freedom, war and human nature at its best and most nightmarish.

The book sharply contrasts our own general perceptions of these same images – you can’t read it without wondering how such an experience would shape your own reality and worldview. These boys came from a place of death by starvation to a land of excess, a place with so much food our government considers “supersize” portions a national health threat. From New York mayor Bloomberg’s attack on sugary soda to parents campaigning to add organic food to the food lunch system, the U.S. has arguably spent more money and time on concerns over what is considered healthy food in our country than on programs to help our starving neighbors on the planet. (Hartmann) One in three American children is considered overweight or obese. (Nierenberg) How can we see concepts such as war and governments role from the same reference point as these boys? It is impossible. We can only read and internalize their reality by taking an interest and studying these events, talking to people who have suffered in this way, and turning off CNN. Even with our best intentions, it’s still not the same as being there.

The lost boys saw the government as an evil force capable and willing to kill the people they loved and destroy their peaceful village life. In 1983, the Northern-based government in Sudan declared Sharia law for all of Sudan. (Deng et al.) The book is sprinkled with examples of the cruelty “the government” inflicted on South Sudan and its occupants. Women and children were locked inside huts and burned to death. The men were shot or drowned in rivers to save bullets. The helicopters would arrive first and the men were right behind. Alepho’s brother Yier wanted to become a lawyer and help his people, but when “the government started killing all the smart students Yier had to flee, so joined the freedom fighters”. (Deng 12) Government officials twist the truth, blaming the murder of black students on suicide or that another student had committed arson. (Deng 167) To these lost boys, government represented everything evil in their lives. There did not seem to be any reason for this evil and hate.

When the three boys recount their early village lives before “government” attacked their families, they describe an ideal pastoral setting and community. The Dinka tribe raised cattle and was a close-knit insular community. No Dinka parent worried about their child being lost or lonely, the entire village looked after each child. Daily life revolved around carrying for their goats and cattle and attending tribal councils. This form of government-operated like a mediation service. Respected men among the community would help settle conflict through bargaining and talk. The Dinka tribal council was never given the name “government” in the book, but it was a form of government. To the lost boys, the word government was only associated with the Northern Islamic rulers, who were bent on destroying their lives for no apparent reason. Fundamentalist Jihad from the northern government drove 20,000 boys from their homes. (Deng 2005) When the government declared Sharia law in Sudan, Benson and Benjamin’s father tells them about “the government troops – Arabs, Muslims, who want to kill us infidels for not circumcising our girls and being Muslim. Islam was too complicated and as cattleman, there was no time to be messing with the Qur’an five times a day. (Ding 2005) To the Lost Boys, the purpose of government was to destroy their lovely village way of life and convert everyone to modern-day Islam.

The government in the eyes of Americans represents something else. Although we express frustration with pocket lining politicians and the lack of progress in decision making due to political infighting, we still generally see government as the protector of our freedom and way of life. Concerns about government infringement and stepping on our civil rights are usually balanced in most American minds as a trade-off for government “protecting” us from those who would ruin us as a nation. The canned newsreels spilled out moment by moment on FOX, CNN and other U.S. media outlets constantly warn us about those who would seek to destroy our god-fearing and freedom-loving nation. We consider ourselves the pinnacle of social evolution. The rest of the planet is copying capitalism, as other nations spool up their manufacturing and marketing machines. We have our “balanced” branches of government, our Bill of Rights to protect us from harm. Freedom of religion is practiced here – we don’t have to worry about religious fanatics in the government cramming their beliefs down our throats through legal means. The separation of church and state was written into our constitution. There is a lot of talk about the extreme right and their attempts to control the U.S. legal system and put religion in public schools and legislate women’s rights to have control over their own bodies. However in light of the three lost boys' accounts, our U.S. “War on Religion” doesn’t meet the definition.

The Lost Boys recount the horrors of a journey at ground level, on foot, by children walking through war to any kind of salvation possible. They have memory of family, friends, and idealist tribal life left behind. They are desperate to contact each other, to salvage something from their incredible loss. War to these Lost Boys meant being torn from their families, separated from brothers. “When two elephants fight, it is the grass that gets trampled.” (African proverb, Deng 2005) The Northern government suspected rebels, members of the Sudanese Peoples Liberation Army, as living in the villages because they spoke the same language. The schoolhouses were all burned down and smart students rounded up and killed. Achol says “Why the killing? What had we done?” “Oh, Ma, why the killing?” (Deng 54) He smelled death, tasted it, felt it. (Deng 2005) To the Lost Boys, war made no sense. They walked through war for five years, witnessed murder, boys going crazy, people changing into beggars and thieves. After five years on the ground, looking through a child’s eyes at war, they still could not understand why, they could not “justify” war or excuse it away.

Sitting in our insulated American family rooms and flipping channels, we surf through an occasional image of war. We do not smell it, taste it and feel it. Our homes are not padlocked and burned with our mothers and children inside. We have never seen a tree littered with skulls underneath, where people have sat down for shade and never stood up again because they have no water. We are free to criticize and spout rhetoric and catchphrases picked up from our media. Our politicians justify war easily. A recent example is President Obama’s speech justifying Americas right to bomb Syria, even in the midst of their refugee crisis:

“[America] recognizes that if the international community fails to maintain certain norms, standards, laws, governing how countries interact and how people are treated, that over time this world becomes less safe.” (President Obama, Daily Kos)

America has appointed itself the policeman of the world. Speeches about our benevolent role in the world arena do not acknowledge the horrible reality of bombs dropped in foreign countries, and the effect this would have on the children and innocent people who will suffer. Their lives are not going to be instantly improved by a bomb dropped nearby. We can sit back on our lazy boys and preach about how lucky we are in this country, and how lucky we are to impose our values on the rest of the planet. Somehow this is spun on its head as a way for us to stay safe in the world. I have not been a Lost child, wandering through war. Smart bombs do a lot to remove war from something we personally experience, perhaps if we were to experience war like the Lost Boys, it would be less easy to justify starting a war. The worst victims of war are always the least powerful in a society.

The Lost Boys saw women oppressed under Sharia law. Alepho met a 5 ½-year-old girl who was mutilated by being raped at her young age. (Deng 97) Women are expected to be “cut like cattle” and castrated. Freedom House gave Sudan the lowest ranking during 2012 for its treatment of women. They are not free. The Islamic Sharia law requires particularly brutal punishment for offenders, and “infidels” who do not convert to Muslim religion. Women are being sentenced to be stoned to death, with six-month infant children at their sides, after having sentences passed over them for adultery. (Atlas Shrugs) There really are no “lost girls”, most were sold into slavery or killed. A much smaller number of girls made the long trek these boys did. Alepho’s father gave him the impression of America being such a land of promise that he points to an airplane in the sky and says, “See that sky boat. A girl is flying it.” (Deng 100) The very idea that a girl could fly a plane was beyond imagination in Sudan at the time.

“They Poured Fire on us from the Sky” recounts the horrors of the journey of three boys, traveling over a thousand miles to escape a war they can’t understand. The book provides a powerful portrait of war, as seen through the eyes of children. We are so insulated from this viewpoint of war through our modern technology of smart bombs, war as viewed from the lazy boy and listening to the clever rehearsed rhetoric of our political leaders. We view war as some necessary unpleasantness to keep us free from “others” – the enemy out there that will take away our right to supersize and use up our natural resources. Benson, Alephonsion, and Benjamin write from the soul, through the eyes of children stunned by the effects of extreme hunger, thirst, and disease as they flee through landmines, crocodile-infested waters, human skulls, despair, and loneliness, trying to find a safe refuge. If we truly put ourselves in their shoes for a moment, war makes less sense. It is impossible to view war, America, women’s rights and freedom from the same viewpoint.

Works Cited

"Atlas Shrugs." 'Atlas Shrugs'. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Oct. 2013. <http://atlasshrugs2000.typepad.com/atlas_shrugs/2012/07/sharia-law--1.html

"Daily Kos." : Ridiculous U.S. Rhetoric to Justify Syria Intervention. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Oct. 2013. <http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/09/04/1236308/-Ridiculous-U-S-Rhetoric-to-Justify-Syria-Intervention

Deng, Alephonsion, Benson Deng, Benjamin Ajak, and Judy Bernstein. They poured fire on us from the sky: the true story of three lost boys from Sudan. New York: Public Affairs, 2005. Print.

"Freedom House Condemns Attacks on Women Activists in Sudan." Freedom House. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Oct. 2013. <http://www.freedomhouse.org/article/freedom-house-condemns-attacks-women-activists-sudan

Hartmann, Margaret. "New York Magazine." Daily Intelligencer. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Oct. 2013. <http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2012/05/bloomberg-plans-to-ban-large-sodas.html

Nierenberg, Danielle. "Recipe for Success." Bringing Better Food to Schools. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Oct. 2013. <http://www.chicagonow.com/recipe-for-success/2013/01/bringing-better-food-to-schools/